SANZAR clears Wallabies fly half Quade Cooper - Rugby Union news
The Wallabies and their star fly half, Quade Cooper, breathed a sigh of relief as South Africa, New Zealand and Australia Rugby (SANZAR) cleared Cooper from all charges. SANZAR announced the decision after conducting a formal hearing of the incident on Sunday,
August 28.
The incident occurred during the second-half of the Saturday, August 27 encounter between the Wallabies and All Blacks. Wallabies were hosting the All Blacks at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, in the 2011 Tri Nations decider.
The Aussies eventually won the game 25 – 20 to secure SANZAR’s second title of the year.
SANZAR’s citing commission cited Cooper for foul play, in which he was charged with intentionally striking the opponent with his knee. Cooper’s knee met the All Blacks captain Richie McCaw during the second-half of the game.
The citing commission charged Cooper with the violation of the International Rugby Board’s (IRB) Law 10.4 (a). The Law 10.4 (a) relates to “Striking an Opponent with Knee”. The recommended sanction for the offence under this category ranges, from banning
the player for 3 weeks to 13 months.
The citing commission instructed Cooper to appear before the SANZAR judicial hearing, chaired by SANZAR Judicial Officer, Jannie Lubbe SC on Sunday, August 28. Cooper, his legal counsel and Wallabies head coach, Robbie Deans attended the hearing.
At the end of the hearing, Lubbe cleared Cooper from the charges. Providing the details, Lubbe confirmed that besides taking in consideration the point of views of all the attendees, he has looked at the video footage of the incident in detail.
Lubbe confirmed that Cooper has admitted his knee made contact with Richie McCaw's face. However, Cooper testified that it was not intentional and happened accidently, as he was getting up from the ground.
In his judgment, Lubbe commented, “On the available evidence he was not satisfied on a balance of probability that Cooper acted in breach of Law 10.4 (a) and therefore dismissed the citing.”
Commenting after the hearing, Cooper has expressed his delight with the decision. He said, “I'm just very grateful and happy for a fair hearing and I'm just looking forward to getting on with rugby and focussing on the World Cup.”
The 23-year-old Cooper acknowledged that he was tense before the hearing. He said, “Any time that you have to face the judiciary it's going to be a sleepless night. I'm just happy to get a fair hearing and now I can get a good sleep.”
The Wallabies’ fly half expressed his disappointment over the incident. He has ruled out the incident as the result of his long-standing rift with the All Blacks international flanker McCaw.
Tags: